Mick’s picks: a look at the Eastern Conference for 2017-18

Predicted order of divisional finish [conference finish in brackets] (2016-17 record – divisional finish in parentheses):

ATLANTIC DIVISION

[2] TAMPA BAY (42-30-10=94 – fifth): Stephen Stamkos is back and healthy. The Lightning also got a terrific young defenseman in Mikhail Sergachev in the Jonathan Drouin deal.
[4] MONTREAL (47-26-9=103 – first): Claude Julien might need more than a year to make a 200-foot problem out of Drouin, but if Drouin responds to Montreal as Alex Radulov did, he will find stardom and the Canadiens will be legit.
[5] BOSTON (44-31-7=95 – third): Charlie McAvoy’s playoff has accelerated the timeline for the Bruins, who also add Anders Bjork to the Bergeron-Marchand line.
[8 - WC2] TORONTO (40-27-15=95 – fourth): Calder Trophy winner Auston Matthews has changed the timeline, and the Maple Leafs are suddenly a Cup half-empty team. Too soon.
[10] OTTAWA (44-28-10=98 – second): So many things went right that could have gone wrong for the Sens, whose sabotage will come from within if Guy Boucher ever lets them think about going to Game 7 overtime with eventual champion Pittsburgh.
[13] FLORIDA (35-36-11=81 – sixth): Last season’s debacle is widely thought to have been solved via addition by subtraction (ie. getting rid of Tom Rowe). Rink Rap disagrees. Unless Aaron Ekblad’s concussion history stops now, this team will wallow, Alexander Barkov notwithstanding.
[14] BUFFALO (33-37-12=78 – eighth): Jack Eichel is now a $10 million player, and the Sabres will soon be feeling pressure to play to his expectations.
[15] DETROIT (33-36-13=79 – seventh): Henrik Zetterberg says he wants to play four more years. Let’s see what he says in April. Newcomers Trevor Daley and hometown comebacker David Booth could contend for the Masterton Trophy.

METROPOLITAN DIVISION

[1] COLUMBUS (50-24-8=108 – third): John Tortorella is back, and the Blue Jackets are climbing. Zach Werenski is the best young defenseman in the NHL, and the acquisition of Artemi Panarin really makes it interesting.
[3] PITTSBURGH (50-21-11=111 – second): Only the effort by Chicago’s top three defensemen in 2015 compare to what the Penguins pulled off without Kris Letang to become the only team to repeat in the salary-cap era. Sidney Crosby. Brian Dumoulin deserves his raise.
[6] WASHINGTON (55-19-8=118 – Presidents Trophy): The Capitals are finally taking on water. Karl Alzner is a Canadien, Kevin Shattenkirk is a Ranger, and Justin Williams has gone back to Carolina. Any path to the Stanley Cup needs to run through Evgeni Kuznetsov.
[7 - WC1] N.Y. RANGERS (48-28-6=102 – fourth): Kevin Shattenkirk went to New York, where it’s widely presumed he will turn the stingy Rangers into a more dynamic offensive team in a top-four role. The only thing I’m sure of his Henrik Lundqvist’s job just got harder.
[9] PHILADELPHIA: (39-33-10=88 – sixth): A year ago we said the Flyers will go as far as Steve Mason goes. Mason has gone right out of town, and Philly wound up with Nolan Patrick, the second overall pick in the draft.
[11] CAROLINA (36-31-15=87 – seventh): Sebastien Aho augments Teuvo Teravainen on the attack, Justin Williams returns, and Scott Darling will get a chance to be a starter.
[12] N.Y. ISLANDERS: (41-29-12=94 – fifth): If the Islanders cannot sign franchise center John Tavares to a career contract before he becomes a free agent next July 1, then Quebec may wind up back in the NHL after all.
[16] NEW JERSEY (28-40-14=70 – eighth): Jimmy Hayes has found a landing spot.

Conference champion: Tampa Bay.

Here is a link to the Rink Rap Bruins Podcast Episode No. 2 including an interview with Ryan Spooner.

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Blog Author

Mick Colageo

Mick Colageo grew up in East Walpole, Mass., skating on Coburn's Pond and at 4 Seasons Arena. He has been writing about hockey since 1986 and covering the Bruins since 1991, is a voting member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, and ... Read Full